Monday, April 13, Governor Jack Dalrymple (R) signed Senate Bill 2274, NRA-backed “shall sign” legislation, into law, after it received unanimous support in the House and Senate.
Sponsored by Senator Kelly Armstrong (R-36), SB 2274 will require that a chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) sign an application for the acquisition or transfer of any item regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA), including short barreled rifles/shotguns and suppressors, within 30 days, so long as the applicant is not prohibited by law from receiving it.
SB 2274 will impose reasonable deadlines and ensure that individuals who are lawfully seeking to transfer an NFA item are able to do so in an expeditious manner. Some CLEOs simply refuse to sign such forms, and nothing in current law prohibits this, even if the applicant’s receipt of the NFA item would not be contrary to law and the CLEO has no information that the applicant intends to use the NFA item for an unlawful purpose. SB 2274 will prevent an arbitrary personal bias from determining North Dakota firearm policy and ensures that qualified, law-abiding North Dakotans will not be denied their ability to legally own NFA items. The reforms in SB 2274 benefit law-abiding Second Amendment supporters by ensuring that the process to obtain NFA items, already legal in North Dakota, remains consistent, fact-based and objective.
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to contact your elected officials on this issue. Please contact Governor Jack Dalrymple (R) and thank him for signing this important piece of legislation into law.
Office of the Governor
Phone: (701) 328-2200
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